SOLIHULL West and Shirley MP, Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, donned a virtual reality headset to experience how youngsters are being educated on knife crime.
Dr Shastri-Hurst visited Virtual Decisions at their headquarters in Birmingham to see what the company is doing to hep young people who may find themselves making decisions to carry a knife or to join a gang.
The Conservative MP is a leading MP in the campaign against knife crime.
He has made progress and secured the future of the weapons surrender bin at Solihull Station, which had been made inaccessible due to construction works.
Dr Shastri-Hurst has also partnered with CitizenAID and The Daniel Baird Foundation to deliver life-saving training and equipment, such as bleed kits, to stop the bleed when waiting for help to arrive during an emergency.
He said: “Virtual Decisions demonstrated the use of virtual reality to navigate through real life scenarios and experience the consequences behind those decisions which lead to knife crime. This was an incredibly powerful experience and will serve as an important educational tool in the campaign against knife crime.”
Prior to becoming an MP Dr Shastri-Hurst witnessed the devastating loss of life caused by knife crime during his time working in trauma surgery at University Hospitals Birmingham.
Stuart Lane, co-founder of Virtual Decisions said: “Through our immersive virtual reality experiences, we’re changing minds and saving lives, allowing young people to understand the real-world consequences of knife-crime in a safe environment.
“We look forward to continuing our discussions with Dr Shastri-Hurst how we can work together to contribute to knife crime prevention and youth safety initiatives in Solihull and beyond.”
